Shelly Vincent returns to Broadway Boxing

On Saturday, June 3, DiBella Entertainment will return to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, for the latest exciting installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series, presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House. The card will feature a bevy of New England talent, including fan favorite Shelly “Shelito’s Way” Vincent in an eight-round special attraction featherweight bout, as well as lightweight Matt Remillard on the comeback and welterweight prospect Mykquan Williams on the rise.

“I am happy to bring another great card back to Foxwoods, which continues to be a terrific venue for Broadway Boxing,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Fans will not want to miss the always-entertaining Shelly Vincent, who is a great ambassador for women’s boxing. The stacked undercard will include local New England favorites Matt Remillard, Mykquan Williams, Jonathan Figueroa, and Khiry Todd, as well as Russian future world champion Radzhab Butaev and a battle between unbeaten heavyweight prospects Ruslan Shamalov and George Arias.”

One of the most popular fighters out of the New England area, Shelly “Shelito’s Way” Vincent (19-1, 1 KO), born in New London, CT, but now residing in Providence, RI, will compete at Foxwoods for the seventh time, in an eight-round featherweight bout. Last August, Vincent entered enemy territory to challenge rival Heather Hardy in her adversary’s hometown of Brooklyn, NY. Their highly publicized grudge match was nationally televised by NBC Sports Net and was hailed by Ring Magazine as the “Female Fight of the Year” for 2016. Vincent was also honored by the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame as their “Fighter of the Year” for 2016, becoming the first female recipient of the award. She rebounded from her only defeat with a unanimous decision victory on December 2, back home in Rhode Island. Before turning pro in October 2011, Vincent was a Connecticut State, Connecticut Golden Gloves, and National Golden Gloves champion as an amateur. Managed by Mike Criscio and trained by Peter Manfredo Sr., Vincent signed with DiBella Entertainment in 2016.

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Matt “Sharp Shooter” Remillard (24-1, 13 KOs), of Hartford, CT, will continue his comeback, following a six-year ring absence, in an eight-round lightweight bout. It will be his first fight in his home state since November 2010. A pro since 2005, Remillard is a former WBC Youth, WBC-USNBC, NABF and NABO featherweight champion. His only loss came in March 2011 to the unbeaten Mikey Garcia, now the WBC world lightweight champion. He is trained by Paul Cichon, a local legend and community leader, out of Manchester Ring of Champions Society boxing gym. As an amateur, Remillard accumulated a record of 115-25, and was a two-time Everlast Under-19 National amateur champion.

Highly touted East Hartford welterweight prospect Mykquan Williams (6-0, 4 KOs) has kept a busy pace since turning pro last April. Promoted by DiBella Entertainment and managed by Jackie Kallen, the 19-year-old Williams will return to Foxwoods, where he has built a strong following, for the sixth time, in his first scheduled six-rounder. Williams is also trained by Cichon, whom he’s known since he was a child and looks upon as a surrogate father. His biological father was murdered when Mykquan was just a week old. Williams was a decorated amateur with a 45-13 record, highlighted by three gold-medal performances at the Ringside World Championships, in addition to winning the PAL Tournament and Silver Gloves Championships.

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Unbeaten New York-based heavyweights will collide in their toughest tests to date, when Russian Ruslan Shamalov (4-0, 3 KOs) meets Dominican George Arias (6-0, 3 KOs) in a six-round contest.

Born in Cherkessk, Russia, and now living in Brooklyn, the 6’5″ Shamalov was a two-time amateur MMA champion before switching to boxing and engaging in 30 amateur bouts while participating on the Russian National team. Shamalov turned pro in October 2016 and is trained by Eduard Kravtsov out of Wild Card Gym, in Los Angeles, CA. In his last bout on April 5, Shamalov returned home to Russia and registered a first-round knockout versus Oleksandr Nesterenko in 43 seconds.

Arias was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, then moved to New York City in 1996, at four years old. However, it wasn’t until graduating high school that Arias learned to box at Morris Park Boxing Gym near his home in The Bronx. He won the New York Golden Gloves tournament in 2014 then turned pro that October. Arias recently returned from a 13-month ring hiatus with a four-round unanimous decision versus Jamal Woods in Lawrenceville, GA, on April 29.

Cuban cruiserweight Luis Garcia (14-0, 11 KOs), based out of Peekskill, NY, will see action in a six-round bout. After being denied a berth on the Cuban Olympic team, despite winning in the Cuban Olympic qualifiers preparing for the Games in Beijing, Garcia defected from his native land and settled in Cork, Ireland, where he turned pro in September 2008. Having built his record to a perfect 11-0 over the next 26 months, Garcia then relocated to the United States to resume his career. On December 5, 2015, Garcia made his New York debut at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, earning a 63-second knockout versus Willie Williams. Anther first-round knockout followed in his last bout on June 25, 2016, at Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, OK.

Russian amateur prodigy Radzhab Butaev (5-0, 4 KOs), co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc. and managed by Vadim Kornilov, will make his second appearance at Foxwoods in an eight-round contest. On November 19, Butaev earned an eight-round shutout victory versus experienced Hungarian Gabor Gorbics to win the NABF junior middleweight title. In his last bout, on April 5, Butaev returned to Russia to stop Baxrom Payazov inside one round. The 22-year-old Butaev, born in Salsk, Russia, and now living in Los Angeles, was a highly accomplished amateur, having compiled an incredible 304-12 record, with 164 knockouts. He participated in the World Series of Boxing as well, finishing at 9-1.

A native of the boxing rich city of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jose Roman (3-0, 3 KOs) will make his US debut in a four-round welterweight contest. Roman began boxing at 13 years of age amassing a stellar 124-17 amateur record along the way. He joined the Puerto Rican National team in 2012, winning three consecutive National championships from 2013-2015.

Junior welterweight Jonathan Figueroa (2-1, 1 KO), of Hartford, CT, will fight in a four-round contest. Managed by Vinny Scolpino, Figueroa turned pro on a Broadway Boxing card held at Foxwoods on September 1 last year. Training out of Hartford PAL gym, Figueroa was a 2012 Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.

Welterweight Khiry Todd (3-0, 3 KOs), from Lynn, MA, will make his Connecticut debut in a four-round contest. The 25-year-old Todd had 40 amateur bouts and won the New England Golden Gloves tournament before turning pro last December with a 42-second demolition of Patrick Leal.

Tickets for the June 3 Broadway Boxing event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House, are priced at $125, $75 and $45. Tickets can be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-200-2882, or visiting the Foxwoods box office. Doors open at 7:00pm, with the first fight scheduled for 7:30pm.